Philippine Heart Association (PHA) President Dr. Raul Lapitan is determined to propel the CPR-Ready Philippines Campaign to a new dimension – to new heights and depths.

“PHA is casting its sights on the tourism sector. We are organizing the CPR-Ready Philippines Campaign’s CPR on Wheels & Wings project, with Boracay as the pilot site and Cebu as the second leg. We are in the process of finalizing the list of destinations,” he said.

PHA is taking the lead in transforming the travel industry players into CPR-equipped establishments.

Boracay is every local and international tourists’ dream destination. The island Paradise is one of the tourism/travel trade’s top cash cows. It generates high volumes of repeat and new inbound international/local traffic.

Lapitan said “we are putting priority on places that burst with visitors. We need to train and teach the municipal and barangay health workers the hotel/resort front liners, staff and support service workers (the boatmen, drivers, tour guides, local police, vendors, et al), how to revive a cardiac arrest and drowning victim. This emergency procedure should be done immediately and properly, while waiting for the ambulance that will take the victim to the hospital.”

There have been news reports about sudden cardiac arrests (SCA) and drowning incidents in bay resorts and hotels. Deaths from SCA and drowning could have been prevented if these tourists facilities were CPR-equipped and installed with an external defibrillator. The Philippines has to be in step with its Asian neighbors that are CPR-savvy.

This project is also buoyed by the passage of the CPR Law; huge success of the first simultaneous Nationwide Mass CPR Training in April this year; the notable accomplishments of PHA under the leadership of PHA immediate past president Dr. Alex Junia and the growing number of CPR Advocacy network of allies from all fronts.

“We want to be remembered as the heart society that played a big part in converting these locations into tourism havens to the max,” added Lapitan.

The PHA is set to meet up with Department of Tourism Undersecretary Alma Jimenez on September 19, 2016, to explore the merits of a possibe DOT-PHA tie-up.